Aldis Stone-Winter
Bio He was born on the 9th of Hearthfire, 4E 178 in what remained of Winterhold, his father was an Imperial battle mage who specialized in Illusion in the Great War who retired to his family's hometown and became a teacher at the College. His father taught him what he could to his son before he died in an experiment gone wrong, he was then raised by some his father's closer friends, the wizards of Winterhold. Being brought up by mages gave Aldis many of the traits that would lead to many calling him 'Imperialized'. He was given an education better than most in Skyrim would, even in cities like Whiterun or Solitude. He also lacks the distrust in mages that many Nords have because he was raised in the last bastion of magical study in the province. Despite having most Nordic traits watered down, if not gone entirely; he can still drink more mead than anyone else in the Hold, a title he is proud to have. Marksman Training Although he was mostly raised by the College, he would spend some of the summer months at his uncle's logging mill in Haafinger. He spends the remainder of the year in Winterhold because his uncle knows he could never teach his nephews what they could learn in Winterhold, but his uncle is more than happy to let them spend the summer with him. Summer is the busy season at the mill because of the greater and safer accessibility to Skyrim via shipping lanes. When not helping out Aldis was mostly left to his own devices, because he felt that he was losing touch with his Nordic heritage he decided to take up hunting around the age of 12. At the start he had trouble hitting a tree while the wind was calm, several years later he was able to hit a squirrel out a tree in a brisk breeze. By the time he was seventeen he would spend his winter weekends out in the wilderness, while in Winterhold. Other Talents and Abilities His ability to survive in the cold storms of the North is only possible because of what gave his famiy their surname, starting with his great-great-great-grandfather who was an accomplished user of frost magick and enchanting. While attempting to make wards-like enchantments while experimenting with frost spells he accidentally a highly potent frost resistance enchantment. Although many Nords have a natural resistance to the cold the enchantment that he accidentally created also had the ability to absorb cold and redirect it into frost spells, at the cost of giving the wearer much more vulnerability to heat. He placed the enchantment on two necklaces, both made of silver but one had a sapphire embedded in it while the other had an emerald instead. The wearer's ability to "take the winter like a stone" led to their family name. Aldis inherited the emerald necklace from his father through his brother. He takes advantage of the resistance to the cold but his ability to use frost spells is limited to one that is barely potent enough to cool a beverage, which turned out to come in handy when living in the Topal. While Aldis worked on his marksman skills during his summers in Haafingar his older brother, Aenar, worked on his sword-wielding abilities. They traded skills with each other one summer to the point where Aenar could hit a bullseye in calm conditions and Aldis knew to handle a blade. Although his skills with a sword have dulled over the years he still knows enough to block and parry, his success doing so is varied though. Sole Heir Aldis' mother passed away due to complications when giving birth to him. His father was left alone to raise two boys on his own while juggling experiments and teaching at the College. Several years went by and his father had become so exhausted from all his duties and made a fatal mistake in his experiments with how illusion spell interact with flame magick. The fire was lethal but he could have been saved by the healers only a stone's throw away if not for the necklace he was wearing. The fire had taken almsot double the toll it would have without the necklace on him, the source of his family name had been his undoing. Aldis' older brother, Aenar, then inherited all of their father's belongings. He was only 11 at the time while Aldis was 10 so the College decided to deal with inheritances when they were older. Years later, when the Stormcloak Rebellion began to spread to Winterhold Aenar was an outspoken opponent of it, he wasn't in favour of the Empire but he hated Ulfric with a passion. He believed that his "fair combat" with Torygg was almost as bad as Thalmor tactics, having met Torygg before who left a good impression on him didn't help his feelings about Ulfric. When the Jarl of Winterhold, who had always hated Aenar and Aldis for being raised by the College, announced that the people of Winterhold unanimously supported Ulfric, Aenar was furious. The Jarl claimed that the College and it's inhabitants were not 'true residents' of Winterhold. Aenar challenged the Jarl to the same combat Ulfric had with Torygg, knowing that his skill with a blade would be able to make short work of the Jarl. The Jarl on the other hand declared that Aenar was making an attempt on his life and had his personal guard slay him before Aenar even unsheathed his sword. Aldis quickly packed a few things and told the College that he would send them mail when he had found a place to settle for a bit so the rest of his things could be sent to him. Aldis took the necklace and buried his brother on a small ledge just outside the College, right next to his father and mother. Joining the Guild After leaving Winterhold he began to journey through Skyrim, looking for a place to call home. He went from hamlet to town to city and continued to do so before deciding that he couldn't live in Skyrim any longer. Between all the death from the war and the harassment from Stormcloaks to try to enlist him he gave up on his home province until there would be peace. He left for Cyrodiil and didn't look back. He had liked Bruma when he had first arrived because it had reminded him of home but the fact that there were still Stormcloak supporters there made him too uneasy to stay. He thought Skingrad was perfect. It had a moderate climate, beautiful landscape, good security and best of all, not a Stormcloak to be found. The only problem with it was the price, Aldis couldn't even get a job, let alone one that would make enough for him to live there. He continued onto Anvil, which had many of the qualities he liked about Skingrad; but it had the same problem too, he still couldn't afford it. He then backtracked to Kvatch, but the fact that the city might be built on the remains of those who died in the Sack of Kvatch made him uncomfortable with the place. Chorrol was nice but he found too quiet, and he was from Winterhold. He left Colovia for the Imperial City, surely he could find somewhere for him there. He liked the unique architecture of the city but it felt more like a place to visit than a place for him to call home. The only place he thought he would be able to settle in would be the Septim Plaza district but with his luck it turned out to be the only place in the city where some people supported the Stormcloaks. He then spent what little gold he had on a small boat that he could row down the Niben River. Nibenay looked lush and beautiful at first, then he got to Bravil. He didn't even spend an hour in the city before someone tried to steal his necklace to sell for skooma septims. He quickly returned to his boat where he rowed it down to a small in a ways south of the city. At the inn he had heard a rumor of a Guild on an island in the Topal, he made a small mental note of it before resuming his journey. He then continued on down the river, trying to stay on the east side of it because of his experience in Bravil until he got to Blackwood. He then promptly switched to rowing down the west side of the river until he reached Leyawiin. The heat of the city got to him quick, especially because of his necklace. He knew for a fact that he was not going back up the river so he was left out of options, until he remembered the Guild. He decided that it was worth a shot and began the long row out to the island. Category:Members